Automatic selective attachment for radio tuning apparatus



M. SOKOLOF F Aug. 12, 1930.

AUTOMATIC SELECTIVE ATTACHMENT FOR RADIO TUNING APPARATUS Filed June 11, 1929 MAX soKoL INVENTOR 54 ATTORNEY- the wireless is Under Patented Aug. l2, 1930 UNITED STATES time PATENT orr c'a I r soxonorr, or nnooxnxn, NEW YORK ammo smc'rrvn ATTACHMENT non name rumne manawus Application'med June 11,

This invention relates to an automatic see lective attachment for radio tuning apparatus and has reference particularly to a mechanical device, in which the tunin control of a radio receiving circuit is ad usted automatically and at predetermined intervals forthe purpose of selecting different pro- T grams being transmitted over different he quencies during any part of a full days rebroadcast. 1 I

adio sets having one or more dials, re-

f' -iquire manual adjustment thereof, to attune th e receiving system to the wave length of impulse which is to be received. present conditions, large numbers of broadcasting stations are transmitting their programs over a Wide range of impulses and in order to tune in on the various stations from which certain selected programs are to be broadcast, it requires the attention of an operator from time to time to adjust the condensers and bring in the succeeding stations.

Though it would appear to be a relativel easy task to change the setting of the dia of a radio receiving set at no less than fifteen minute or half hour periods, it often happens that the resetting is neglected, and as a result, a program of particular importance is omits tend from an entertainment. Furthermore, the wide use of radio reception in public places, 'for example, restaurants and dance halls, requires constant programs of one type ofmusic which, while the latter may be found at all times at some station, still one station stantly. As a. result, an attendant must be at hand to make the necessary adjustment of the dials and to keep a correct logging so that no time is lost between programs.

With the foregoing in mind, it is the purpose of my invention to provide an attachment, ofthe character hereinafter described, which may be embodied in the radio receiving apparatus itself Or simply coupled thereto by a suitable means, whereby to operate a mechanical time set control which will permit a maximum number of radio stations to be logged and successively and automatically selected throughout an entire day Withwith a condenser shaft 12.

' t l 't may not be depended upon 0 supp y 1 con i: where it follows downwardly and rearwardly 1829. Serial No. 869,978. I!

out further consideration on the part of an operator.

I accomplish this purpose by means of the arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter described fully in the specification and claims and illustratively exemplified in the accompanying drawings, in which,'Figure 1 is a substantially sectional view taken on lines 11 of Fig. 2 of my improved automatic selective attachment coupled to the dial shaft of a radio receiving set; Figure 2 is a plan view of the same; and Figure 3 is perspective view of one of the adjustable units carried by the selective mechanism.

eferring to the drawings, 10 denotes generally a radio receiving set, preferably of the one dial control type and embodying in its construction a dial 11 mounted for rotation Between the dial 11 and the condenser and carried by the shaft 12, is a cylindrical drum 13 having one half of its peripheral surface divided into twelve equally spaced longitudinal lines and twelve equally spaced circumferential lines, which lines intersect to form twelve s directions or one hundred forty our spaces in all, thus making a graph or chart 14. A rib 15 is mounted on the surface of the cylinder havin the graph and comprises a narrow upri t member which follows a curve plottedrom one end of the c linder, beginning at the first intersection 0; the crossed lines and progressing upwardly over the succeeding intersections until the rib reaches the intersection of the middle lines of the chart aces in both over succeeding intersections towards the 0 posite end of the cylinder and on the side thereof diametrically opposite to that from ,Which the rib began. The longitudinal lines of the chart correspond to the dial readings 18 and the circumferential lines correspond to the twelve hours of the day, for example from 9 a. m. to!) p. m. The dial shaft, drum and dial are held constantly under tension to rotate in a clockwise direction by means of a winding spring 19, which may be wound up at the time the days program is selected so as to enable the drum to rotate automatically in a clockwise direction each time it is released and the station changed. In order to set the drum for a continuous program, over any one station, a ratchet wheel 20 is mounted to rotate withethe shaft 12 and is provided with a series of teeth corresponding to the markings on the dial, the teeth being engaged by a pawl 21 pivotally mounted at one end to the frame 22 of the device.

The frame 22 may be of any convenient shape in accordance with the radio set being controlled, but for illustrative purposes the frame is shown rectangularly shaped and the dial shaft 12 is journaled in the frame at opposite ends of the drum 13. Mounted in the frame 22 parallel to the dial drum 13 is a selector drum 23 which is considerably larger in diameter than the drum 13 and which turns with its shaft 24 journaled in the frame 22. The selector drum 23 comprises two end plates 23, the forward plate thereof being flush with the forward end of the drum 13 while the opposite end plate projects farther to the rear. The plates are tied together about their inner peripheral edges by means of square rods 25. These rods are equally g paced a art and there are twelve of them.

ach re 25 is provided with spaced graduations 26 corresponding in number with the graduations on the dial 11. Slida'bly mounted on each rod 25 is a selector 27 comprising a block having a square opening to accommodate the rod 25 and a spring clip 28 also with a square opening to receive the rod, the clip being normally disposed at an angle to the transverse axis of the rod so as to cause the wall of the opening to bite into the surface of the rod itself and prevent accidental movement of the selector after it is once set. The two drums 13 and 23 are arranged so as to bring the surface of drum 13 and a projecting toe 29 on each selector 27 on opposite sides of the common tangent line. In a similar manner, the outer side of the rib 15 and peripheral'surface of the selector drum 23 pass on opposite sides of the common tangent line between the two. This arrangement brings the toes 29 and rib 15 into engagement with each other when any tee is moved to the space between the two common tangent lines outlined above and illustrated by dotted lines A-A and B-B in Figure 1. The selectors 27 are set in accordance with the dial reading on the rods 25 and since each rod represents an hour in the days program, they are respectively designated by numbers from 9 a. m. to S m. or any other desired arrangement.

ntermittent half hour rotary movement is imparted to the selector drum 23 by means of a pawl and ratchet mechanism 30 on the shaft 24 which also carries-the end plates 23. A double acting cam 32 is mounted on the frame 22 adjacent the pawl and ratchet 30, and through a connection with a clock A, mechanism is caused'to make one full revolution every hour. A lever 33 pivoted midway of its length on the selector drum shaft 24;, carries the pawl 30 on one arm disposed in the path of movement of the cam 32, while the other arm is yieldably held down by a spring 34 to keep the first mentioned arm in contact with the earn from underneath, as illustrated in Figure 1. Blacklash of the drum 23 is avoided in the construction by a spring pressed pawl 30 engaged with the teeth of the ratchet on the side opposite the first pawl.

The difference in the length of the drum 23 over the drum 13 is for the purpose of providing an extra set of peripheral spaces in the drum 23 to accommodate its selectors outside the path of the rib 15 and in the path of the main double acting switch 35 of the set, so that the latter may be turned completely off for a predetermined period by engagement of a selector with the switch arm 36 and then later it may be turned on again by engagement with another selector with the same switch.

The operation of the invention is as follows: It will be assumed that the operator is familiar enough with his set to know the various dial settings for the dilferent stations and that the complete days program has been selected. Beginning with the selector on rod 25 marked 9 a. m. for example,

the selector is adjusted to the reading on the rod which corresponds to the reading on the dial 11 for the selected station broadcasting during that time. The next selector on the ten oclock rod is likewise adjusted to its proper position on its rod 25 and so on until the twelve selectors are arranged. Further operation then awaits the time for the program to begin, which is 9 a. m. The clock at 9 a. in. will have depressed the lever 33 until the pawl has moved over the teeth of the ratchet wheel an an le equal to one half the angle between two bars 25, whereupon the lever is released from the highest point of the cam 32 and the spring moves lever and pawl to rotate the selector drum 23 in a counter-clockwise direction to bring the selector adjusted on the 9 a; m. rod 25 into position on the horizontal line intersected by the common tangent of the drum l3 and path of the toes 29. The preceding toe 29 having moved away, releases the drum 13 and it will rotate clockwise for practically one revolution by means of its spring 19 or until the curved rib 15 engages the toe 29 and is held against further movement for the next half hour at the point or dial setting corresponding to the position of the selector rod 25. This op eration is continued throughout the next twelve hours, one dial setting following the other at half hour intervals. It will be understood that resetting of the dial may be effected more often if desired by merely increasing the number of rods 25 and selectors 27.

posed on a curved Having now described my invention and the manner in which the same operates, what 1 claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In combination with a radio receiving set having tuning elements, a spirally arranged projection turning with said tuning elements, and rotary means engaging an turning said spiral projection for automatically operating said tuning elements at predetermined time intervals to select successively, difi'erent impulses to be received.

In combination with a radio receivin set and a tuning control therefor provid with a spiral pro ection, and means engaging and turning said spiral projection for automatically operating said control at predetermined tlme intervals to successively select different impulses to be received.

3. In combination with a radio receiving set having tuning elements and a control therefor, rotary means for operating said control comprising a spiral projection which follows the intersections of corresponding lines of a gra h disposed over substantially 180 degrees 0 a cylindrical surface, the longitudinal and circumferential lines of the graph representing respectively, dial divisions and time intervals and selector means intermittently rotated at predetermined time intervals comprising longitudinally ad'ustable radial members for being engage by said projection to hold said rotary means and tuning control at a predetermined position for a predetermined time interval.

4. An automatic selective device for the tuning control of a radio reeciving set, comprising rotary means turning with the tuning control and being under tension to rotate in one direction, a spiral projection carried by said rotary means and having its curve plotted on the intersections of a graph displane corresponding to a semi-cylindrical surface, the longitudinal lines of the graph being coincident with the radial markings of the tuning control and the transverse lines corresponding to predetermined time intervals, and intermittently rotary selector means associated with said first named rotary means, comprising longitudinally disposed circumferentially spaced carriers having graduations corresponding 1n position with the transverse lines of the first means and having the same value as the radial markings of the tuning control, the space between said carriers representing predetermined time intervals and the distance of continued rotation of the selector means, an adjustable selector for each carrier movable to a position between the two rotary means and in the path of rotar movement of the said spiral to be engaged y the latter which is held stationary for a predetermined time interval at a point of corresponding readings on the tuning control and carrier designated by the position of the respective selector.

5. An automatic selective device, as claimed in claim 4, including a ratchet and pawl mechanism for imparting intermittent rotary movement to the selector means, an arm supporting the pawl, and a continuousl rotary cam for operating the arm to rotate the selector means through the angle between successive carriers.

6. An automatic selective device, as claimed in claim 4, including a spring for tensioning the means to turn the control, and means for locking the said first means against rotary movement by the spring.

7. An automatic selector device for the tuning control of a radio receiving set having an electric switch to connect and disconnect the power to the set, as claimed in claim 4, including means arranged on the switch and in the path of any selectors adjusted to a predetermined position on its carrier beyond one end of the said spiral to efl'ect the opening or closing of the switch by engagement therewith during rotary movement of the selector means.

8. An automatic selector device, as claimed in claim 4, in which the carriers comprise bars rectangular in transverse section, and each selector therefor comprising a member having a rectangular opening to receive the bar and permit axial adjustment thereover of the selector, and loclrin means carried by the selector member to hold the latter in adjusted position with respect to its bar.

9. An automatic selector device for the tuning control of a radio receiving set, comprising a selector drum having a plurality of. equally spaced circumferentlally disposed bars provided with graduations corresponding to the dial marking of the tuning control,-

means for intermittently rotating said drum to bring each bar to a stationary position at the same point for a terval,-selector means for each bar and adjustable longitudinally thereof, and means turning with said tuning control and having means to engage the selectors during the stationary position thereof at said point for holding the control stationary at a predetermined osition during a predetermined time interva 10. An automatic selective device, as claimed in claim 4, including a ratchet and pawl mechanism for imparting intermittent. rotary movement to the selector means, an

arm pivotally supported and spring tensioned to carry said pawl, a cam having a plurality of high points to operate the arm against the spring tension thereof, and means for continuousl rotating said cam, one rotation thereof oing effected during a certain time interval.

In testimony whereof I afiix m MAXSO signature.

OLOFF.

predetermined time inr 

